The Best Part

A year ago I was sitting in church listening to a winsome young minister preach with insight, clarity and conviction. My daughter, a seminary student, was sitting beside me and I knew he had captured her heart. My husband and I had long felt our daughter and Matthew well suited for one another. In that moment, my heart beat faster as I envisioned them in ministry together.

The vision was so strong that it became a prayer. And
my heart prayed so loudly that I looked around to be sure I had not spoken aloud. “Lord, may these two be united in marriage and may Don and I see them ministering together for your kingdom.”

Less than a year latter we had the joy of witnessing their marriage vows in a beautiful sacred ceremony. That was an answer to the first half of the prayer!

A month later we had the unexpected joy of seeing an answer to the second half of that prayer in a small but powerful way. The newlyweds found themselves in need of an additional car and driver for a Mt. Rainier trip they had planned for International college students. It was planned to be a culminating event for their time together at Matthew’s “Coffee Talk” events where they socialized and practiced English. Matthew and Jill asked us to go along.

Most of the students had only been in our country a few months and are in an ESL program at the college. Jill’s teaching skills were evident as she explained what “fragile” meant on the “no trespassing” signs in the meadows or defined a “forest ranger.” Matthew was cheerleader, as some grew tired on the 3 1/2 mile hike with 1,000 ft. elevation gain. He promised us relief “just around the next ridge…” His laughter at the whistling marmot and joy in seeing nature’s glories caused us all to delight. Matthew has that rare leadership skill of being positively directive and together Jill and Matthew were aware of how each hiker was progressing throughout the day; they truly worked together as a ministry team.

We stopped for Mexican food on the way home and Jill quickly picked up on their difficulty in ordering from this huge list of strange menu items. Now we were dealing with a third language! How would they know that “pollo” was chicken? And what is an enchilada? She and Matthew made the selection process fun. During table conversation the kids excitedly shared what meant most to them from the day. Their answers were simple and direct. One young man most enjoyed the gray jay eating peanuts from his hand. For another it was building a snowman at the crest of the trail. Several were impacted by the beauty of God’s creation. (Oh that they will all learn to know the Creator!) Some said the best part was “the WHOLE THING.”

I thought about the new perspective I got on Iraq, Japan, Hong Kong, and Viet Nam. But mostly I felt rather than thought of the beauty of each of these young people created in the image of God and I had to say “the best part for me was meeting all of you!”

As all enthusiastically expressed thanks to Matthew for organizing the trip and each shook hands or hugged us goodbye, my heart gave a second answer to the question. The “best part of the day” for me? Seeing the answer to the second part of my prayer; being in awe of how God brought an East Coast young man and a West Coast young women together in love and marriage in order that they might shepherd his sheep of all nationalities.